The uncertainty of the law under these
systems has become a proverb. So great is this uncertainty, that
nearly all men, learned as well as unlearned, shun the law as
their enemy, instead of resorting to it for protection. They
usually go into courts of justice, so called, only as men go into
battle when there is no alternative left for them. And even then
they go into them as men go into dark labyrinths and caverns
with no knowledge of their own, but trusting wholly to their
guides. Yet, less fortunate than other adventurers, they can have
little confidence even in their guides, for the reason that the
guides themselves know little of the mazes they are threading.
They know the mode and place of entrance; but what they will
meet with on their way, and what will be the time, mode, place,
or condition of their exit; whether they will emerge into a prison,
or not; whether wholly naked and destitute, or not; whether with
their reputations left to them, or not; and whether in time or
eternity; experienced and honest guides rarely venture to predict.
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